Machine for slicing veneer strips from wood blocks



y 29, 1952 c. F. BAMFORD 2,604,913

MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS Filed March 25, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

July 29, 1952 c. F. BAMFORD 2,604,913

MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS Filed March 25, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Charles ffBamford 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 29, 1952 c. F. BAMFORD MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS Filed March 25, 1947 INVENTOR. Cfz arZ as RB fora? C. F. BAMFORD July 29, 1952 MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 25, 1947 INVENTOR. Charles BB0 ford July 29; 1952 c. F. BAMFORD MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 25, 1947 INVENTOR. CfzczrZes FBam Ford July 29, 1952 c. F. BAMFORD MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 25, 1947 INVENTOR. C ]1 ar Z25 E Bamfiord Patented July 29, 1952 MACHINE FOR SLICING VENEER STRIPS FROM WOOD BLOCKS l Q7 ,Charles F. Baniford, Portland, Oreg. 1 Application Marcus, 1947, Serial N 737,044

My invention relatesito'machines for slicing veneer strips from wood blocks, and has for its general object the. development of a wood slicer in which the par-ts may be accurately adjusted quickly and efficiently to produce a superior op eration and a superior product. j

A further object of my invention is to provide a wood slicing machine of this character in which provision is madeto hold blocks of wood to be sliced, which blocks may ,vary substantially :in size and which blocks of woodmay be irregular.

A further and more'specific object of my invention is to provide aslic'eriof'this character in' which the cutter assembly is held to a closely defined path but the parts are so arranged that they accommodate expansion andcontraction, irregularities in the block of wood being operated upon, and the operating parts are so arranged as to withstand shock-resultingffrom' severe operation.

A further and more specific object of my inven* tion concerns the'provision ofjadlustingrdevices' by which the fixed. cut ofi bar-may be adjusted with respect to the stroke of th cutting head assembly. Heretofore; said adjustment was made by; adjusting .the operating length" or limits of the stroke of the cutting head'ass'embly; I have discovered that the stroke of; the "cutting head assembly may be left unaffected and a simple, eilicient and speedy adjustmeritmaybe provided fOTthB cut-off plate to ma'ke said frelative adlustments. 1 "T I i A further and more specific object ofmy'invention is to provide a;hydrau1ically"actuated con-'- trol for the hold down bar whichholds a block of wood being'sliced upon thecut-ofi bar. 'Sllfficient pressure must be maintained upon said block to hold the latter upon the'cut-ofi bar-,but yet this should not be so severe'that it prevents the feeding mechanism -frommoving the block or 'wood being sliced progressively toward the slicer knife inmaking 'thesuccessive cuts. 'It is essential, also, that there'be-some accommodation in the mounting for-thehold-down bar so that if there are irregularities in the blocksurface, said hold-down barmay 1 accommodate itself to such irregularities. 1 That the bar accommodates I itself. to the block if the upper face of said block is-not plane andleveh Further and other details of myf'invention "and theiadvantages thereof are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying. drawings-,in which: 1 :m

. Fig. 1 is a plan view of a'slicer embodying my invention 'with portions shown brokenawaysto :disclose details of construction thereof; i :1

6 Claims. (01. 144.l62)

. vertical end members la'l b, alower longitudi- Fi 2 is an end elevation thereof'taken in-th direction of the arrow2 inFig. 1; r

Fig- 3 is a longitudinal section through said machine taken on the line 33 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the oil'- set section line 4-4 in Fig. 3; r

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken 5-5 in Fig.1;

Fig. 6 is a detail view,.partia1ly in section, takenonthe1ine66inFig. 1; if

V Fig. 7 is a moresor less dia'grammaticview', partially in section, taken on the line 1 1 in Fig 1; 1

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view through the cutting head, cut-off bar and hold-down bar,- and shows means for varyingthe position of the cut-off bar with respect to the cutting assembly: and zit 21:21 Fig. 9 is a detail view, taken-substantially on the line 99 of Fig. l but rotated about 30" to show the squared aperture in which the end 'of one guide bar is mounted so lateral adjustment automatically will be madeun'der working stress.

A slicer embodying my invention is supported by a box likeframe comprising.two-transverse on the iii e nal member Ic, and an upperlongitudinal meme berldw Said .frame defines a working space 2, in which adriving motor 3, illustratedas an electric motor, is mounted and drives a pulley 4' from motor pulley S'through a plurality 'o'tJV-belts 6. See Figs.3and1. The pulley 4 preferably is madequitemassive so that it operates on-the principle of a flywheel, asection therethroughbeing .illustratedin Fig.16. Said pulley 4 is keyed to a shaft Lhaving appropriate bearings in theframemember. la. Also keyed to said shaft is.a:driving pinion 8.. Said driving pinion; 8 meshes with and dri. es 2. pair of gearsqS, .which gears 91 are supported :by

crank discs H and l2, respectively. ,aiShafts 9a extend through crank discs ll =;and I 2; respec:

tively, andsupportsaid discs; Lprefera-bly make a said gears 9; separable so they maybe easily re;- placed. Said gears and the crank ,discs'to which they aresecured, andwith which they becomea single operating unit, are housed within theframe in the manner shown in Fig. 5 and are enclosed by shields I3-.I3a, respectively,'.toe.keep outidirt, dust, and other foreign matter; Said shields-are fitted quite, tightly; so the spaces ["4 within-. the frame'and-behind said shields mayconstitutezoi reservoirs to, lubricate .said,gears-,i.-disc. iandthe bearings therefor As is gsho'wngi-ni .Fi ."-5',:.each crank disc extends.throughwapentral aperture I OFFICE];

' crank pins Ila-12a, respectively.

The cutting knife for performing the slicingoperation is an operating part of cutting head assembly 15, which extends across the central portion ofthe end'of the machine in themanner illustrated in Fig. 2. It comprises a sash'lfi; which terminates in terminal sleeves Ilia-46b,

respectively. Said sleeves are slidably mounted" upon obliquely disposed guide bars Il-.- lla-, re.--

spectively, held by clamps I8 l8a to the frame of the machine. Inasmuch as said guide bars have to be strong and true, and the cutting as-'- sembly must follow a fixed path, it is desirable that one of said guide barsbe adjustable. To

this end, I make the clamps [8 for accommodat ing theguide bar I? with some adjustment laterally. This is illustrated in the upper leit hand portion of Fig. l.v and, more particularly, in the detaik yie\\'r,.,of Fig. 9-. That-,isto. say, a squared aperture 181:. isarranged in said clam aJfld upper. end: [lib of the, guide. bar H is, narrower than the aperture I817, butisthe same. thickness asrrthe depth of said. aperture. Thelclamping plate I9 spans saidaperture and slid ably holds the-bar in place, but permits. it .to adjust, itself automatically under stresslto maintain; true. and f reea'operation. off, the; cutting head assembly-.,

;;;This is, necessary! notiv only to accommodate any slight mechanical deviations, but also isv ngoessary. to; accommodate longitudinal. expansion of? the-cutting head a semb y The g d bar .15! iaheldagainst longitudinal. movement and inoyemeritwhich. would shiftthe axis toward and from the frame, but does permit -it to move freely in a; plane para lel o he. face of. th ..-.fr m ito ac mmodate.

tate, said; connecting rods-move. the. cutting head assembly obliqu ly along a path. defined by. said uide-bars. tie-H r Y One of the important features of noveltyzof myinvcntion is next described. Inasmuch: as thepositionoflthe, cutting edge. 31a of; the knife 31; varieswith wear and adjustment, it has. been deemed necessary heretofore to accommodate this change in position by varying thalengthpf the. connecting, rods. :47.24; This provides a complicated. and v insecure.- structure, and; the makingllof the. adjustment is: difiicult because; of the close. working;tolerancesethat must. hemaintained: Laccomplish. this resultin the following manner;- Itmake the cut-ofl. bar. and: its. suppoems. as. a separate'unit and. make it-adjustable 'on.-theframe. Referring to Fig. 8, th'ecut-off -bar bracket or suppiort 22 is releasably secured to the frame member by a pain of clamping screwsizfi :These pass through elongated: apertures 22a in'th'e cut -off bar support and'thussde' fine guide members restraining the bracket 2.2 ta .vertical adjustment only. The cut-off. bar br-acket or support 2:2 isvertically adjustable. by adjusting screws 24 which.- beanrupon the upper surface of. the frame: member lzb. Thecut-off bar 'lEi -is' adjustably mounted; on-..the. top. ofl: the

'cutwff bar bracketor support 22 byclamping screws 26:- which passthrough apertured holes 25a in-the -cut-ofi bar. I'he cuteoffiibaramay be adjusted zhorizontally, that is,-latera1ly .of its'supv ort; by backing screws 21. The said backing these h n es-in.operatinscondh screws 21 are adjusted to fixed position and are then locked in said position by lock nuts 21a thereon. A block of wood 28 to be sliced is supported on 5 said cut-off bar and slidably held upon the cutoii bar by a hold-down bar 29.

The cutting head assembly is supported by the sash-,1 Biff The'knife bar 3!) i's adjiifstably mounted infthe'sash'by means of adjustably mounted brackets, lugs, adjusting screws, and various devices, o that a very close fit and precise position may be attained. These parts are shown in Figsiz and 8', but form no particular part of my invention and thus will not be described in furtherdetail. The knife 3! 'is obliquely adjustable .in the knife bar by means of adjusting screws 32; The knife'is held in position by a clamp bar 33- held by bolts shown in dotted outline in Fig. 8. The under side of the knife bar is curved and deli es the upper. portion oi a throat. 3,4. through w icl i; slices'ifz a cut,ofhfrom. the block, 28. are discharged. Underneathsaid throat 34 is, pres-1 s e ba'r 3,5, held. 'downTby-c amp a d ad.- j uste'd by screw .3] The, clamp. barf36 is; held by screws 38. 1 I V .All of the. fore o'ja. with regard to the knife andits. supports, is, generally old in the, art. Sufiice. it. to saythattheknife must be adjusted forcutting. difierenttypesjoi'wogd, and the cutoli baii var in height ahdggenerallygthere must b'e some ac,.commodati on 'of said cutting structures with resbcotto each .,o ther, which res; that an adjustment. be; made between the e ge-. 1 1 and, e cut-on: bar. 25. This may beacco lished, asll have described;preyiously. dius'tingithe cut-01ft bar, 2,5 vertically and leavi thep'ath Oitravel, of, the, knife; unvaried; i ismay, b 'donem r l pre se y... mor e pe i'r tiously, and more certainly by the structuresil-f lustrated herein andpreyiously described than by yaryingLjthe length-of, the connecting rods, e 'oldpracticel 1 xt, eferring to thejholdi-down'feature of. my m n iom "A, iceijiof j hisv character must accommodate; itseli to lockslof dilierehtlthick; ness-andto difierentjt ,of 'wood. 'Saidlblocks i r i s 'a" and un ven. Thtremust be, some accomm on in the. holdedown bar iguana v h rs man. bar. ass m m t e. capableioff quick actuation, and. accommodation to the surface upon which it bears. 'I'accomplish this by. deyicesshown most, clearl in; igs. 6, '7 hee l d ie' e 29ds a ed m holds-dew barlbracket 39, the point, of joinder -a .2 i cars the sari ab a #42. re ecir ln Quota-tins. mm o 4. nd-. y ndetlie he spr n ba els-A a 42.. re pective y. and hav -.pist ns; .311714%. respective y... therein. d pistons a..!l;4c;.:nespect ve1y,;have rods. 45 and A53; extending upwardly therefrom: and; they extend centrallyathifough barrels 541".7142} respectively: EJSflidLI-QQ'S. eachhave springs 41%:48 re spectively, surrounding them, which springs. are housed; within the. barrels. 4.1 ...42; respectively.

against a; sleeve; 49, -wlhichis secured to. therods Thegupperjend .of-.. each. of theisprings bears operating cylinder 44.

ands'lidablyengages the, upper end of a spring barrel. ,Spring barrels ,4l-7-42 are held against movement downwardly upon the respective rods 45, and 46 by a setv collar 50 secured to each of said rods; Then, when thehold-down bar rides over a" slightly higher surface, the bar-and its bracket may lift thespring barrel due to the compressibility ofthe spring therein. The springs the stop collar and the hold-down bar is subject to the pressure of the springs 'thereonj If the lower ends of each of the spring barrels'were'set initially to rest upon the set collars 'and the hold-down bar moved across a low spot, the set collars would prevent the hold-down bar from keeping in contact with the block being sliced, under said circumstances. v The upper ends of each of said rods' 45--46 are formed into rack bars 45a-46a, having rack teeth upon one face thereof.' A transverse shaft 5| spans said rods andcarries pinions 5|a 5|b at the ends thereof, which pinions mesh with the rack bars and transmit the movement of one directly to the other. This keeps the two ends of the hold-down bar in fixed relation and requires said hold-down bar to move in parallel planes, except as said ends are permitted to move relatively, due to the yielding pressure exerted by the springs in the spring barrels.

m I preferably utilize an hydraulic fluid in connection with the operating cylinders 43'44,and the cylinders are double acting; th'atis, operating fluid is introduced and withdrawn from both sides of the pistons z- 44a, respectively, in said operating cylinders. The springs thus provide that measure of accommodation to permit the hold-down bar to accommodate itself to an irregular or uneven upper surface of the block being-Sliced. I I 7 InFig. 7, I illustrate the manner in which fluid I is introduced to said two cylinders, which arediagrammatically shown detached from the structure of the slicer for the purpose of illustration. Conduits 52---52a provide a control for fluidflowing to and from operating cylinder 43, while conduits 53-53a perform a similar function for the A common control and distributing valve 54 diverts the flow of fluid into either of said two systems of conduits. Said control and distributing valve 54 performs another very useful and important function, namely; that it may be capable ofcuttingflow off from both conduits and to lock the operating cylinders 43-44 and the pistons therein at a fixed position. I Operating fluid under pressure may be supplied to said valve 54 from any convenient source. In Fig. 7, I illustrate two pipes, an intake pipe 54a and a discharge pipe 541).

Other operating devices are actuated by hydraulic fluid and thus said pipes may connect with a common reservoir or a common pressure supply system. This is not necessary but is "desirable to effect good design. I, thus have indicated in Fig. 3 that said pipes lead to a reservoir 55 and stub ends of pipes 55a and 55b may join with said pipes 54a54b to complete an operating circuit. Pressure is maintained in the pressure linefrom' said reservoir by a pump 56, powered by a motoror other. power plant, indicated in 3 in dotted-outline as 51. f e .Blocks of wood 28 to be fed undenthe' holddown bar and to be subject-t0 slicin by the cutting head assembly are fed; by a hydraulically actuated knee 58, which is shown most clearlyin Fig. 3. Said knee is carriedby a piston rod 5 9, which, in turn, is actuated by an operating cy1in der 60, controlled by a main control valve 6|. Said cylinder is operated' also by. hydraulic fluid, which is supplied through pipes 62-43 from the reservoir 55 A proper operating pressure is maintained in the supply line 62 by a pressure relief valve 64. i v 1 The ports leading from the main control valve 6.! to the ends of the operating cylinderlill are indicated in dotted outlines. Thati's to s'ay, the operating cylinder is double acting. Underlying the piston rod 59 is a guide rod 65 and the hydraulically actuated knee 58 has a sleeve 5811 which encircles and slides upon said guide rod. I preferably provide a bumper spring 66 between the end .of the piston rod and the hydraulically actuated knee so as toeliminatefshock, said spring encircling a reduced portion 59a of the piston rod, and the knee is held upon said reduced portion by a nut 61. j I preferably provide operating devices which are in part mechanically actuated and in part manually operated. This is a mere matterof choice, but I have illustrated the actuating con trols in this manner. Said actuating controlsare illustrated in Figs.1 and 7 most clearly. The con nection from the operating handles to' the valves is illustrated most clearly in Fig. 3and'reference is also had thereto.

a. A pair of operating handles 68 and'69 are ar ranged side by side, the operating handle 63 op;-

.erating thehold-down mechanism, and the op:-

erating handle 69 controlling the forwardmoti'on of the hydraulically actuated knee. The operating handle 68 is fixed to a rock shaft 10, having an arm H also secured thereto, which is vjoined by a link 12, having a clevis 1211 at the end there of and joined to the operating lever 13 of the control and distributing valve ,54. Movement of the operating handle 68in one" direction thus causes ate it. Mounted upon control rod I5 is a'clamp arm"!!! which is connected toarm why-control I preferably provide a laterally extending arm 5822 on the hydraulically actuated knee to engage a stop on the control rod 15, and thus when the knee moves in closest proximity to the cutting head assembly, it moves said rod 15 and reverses the feed to move the knee toward the right, as it is shown in Fig.3. -I have said, this is the particular type of control which I have selected for the purpose of illustration. It plays no important part in my present invention, however.

Overlying the operating cylinder 60 and its associated mechanism is a horizontally disposed roof 16. This prevents any dirt from passing downinto the operating mechanism. Overlying ing the wood block as strips are sliced therefrom by said cutting head assembly, a movable bracket means supporting and mounting said cut-oil bar in a plane perpendicular to said fixed vertical plane, and an adjustable guide member means interconnecting said moveable bracket and frame member and restraining the former to free move- -ment only in a direction parallel said fixed vertical plane.

5. In a machine for slicing strips of veneer from a wood block, a frame member, a cutting head assembly carrying a cutting knife, means mounting said cutting head assembly upon said frame member for a reciprocable movement at an oblique angle across and within a fixed vertical plane, an elongated cut-off bar for supporting the wood block as strips are sliced therefrom by said cutting knife, said cut-off bar terminating immediately adjacent said fixed vertical plane and being mounted upon said frame member to lie in a plane perpendicular to said fixed vertical plane, means for feeding the wood block over said cut-01f bar toward said fixed vertical plane, an elongated hold-down bar having a narrow but elongated contact area, said hold-down bar being mounted upon said frame above said cut-off bar in position slidably to contact the upper surface of the wood block along said narrow contact area, fluid pressure applying means selectively for adjusting and holding said holddown bar down against said wood block with a preselected pressure allowing said means for feeding to feed the wood block against the force of the hold-down, and elastic means intermediate said fluid pressure applying means and hold-down bar for yielding in the presence of a back pressure on said hold-down bar which back pressure is substantially in excess of the said preselected pressure.

6. In a machine for slicing a wood block, a frame member, a cutting head assembly, means mounting said cutting head assembly upon said frame member for reciprocable movement within a fixed vertical plane, an elongated cut-off bar for supporting the wood block, said cut-ofi bar terminating immediately adjacent said fixed vertical plane and lying in a plane which is pering said hold-down bar to a selected pressure ap- I plying position relative to said cut-off bar, and elastic means intermediate said fluid pressure applying means and hold-down bar for yielding the position of said hold-down bar in the presence of a back pressure substantially in excess of the said selected pressure.

CHARLES F. BAMFORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 174,056 Bartlett Feb. 29, 1876 271,290 Witzmann Jan. 30, 1883 374,306 Keene Dec. 6, 1887 494,819 Mesta Apr. 4, 1893 1,263,477 Smith Apr. 23, 1918 1,277,808 Witham Sept. 3, 1918 1,334,391 Nilsson Mar. 23, 1920 1,469,689 Prius Oct. 2, 1923 1,653,916 Lash Dec. 27, 1927 1,805,906 Dennis May 19, 1931 1,815,670 Haworth July 21, 1931 1,869,593 Johnson et a1 Aug. 2, 1932 2,008,317 Voigt July 16, 1935 2,036,179 Mac Brair Mar. 31, 1936 2,239,705 Dick Apr. 29, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 548,617 France Oct. 26, 1922 782,623 France Mar. 18, 1935 615,599 Germany July 8, 1935 

